Binges

Sometimes we make a change and cannot see how far the ripples of that change will reach. The change of this particular move has many ripples. Recently, I've been on a reading binge. I do that occasionally, especially during a period of retreat. You know, those times when it feels like there is just a little bit too much spinning around and you want to interrupt it?



My Prosser grandchildren and son recommended a series they just finished reading, a five book series by Suzanne Collins called The Underland Chronicles published by Scholastic. It has the big battles of Lord of the Rings with some of the same elements of fantasy as the Chronicles of Narnia, Alice in Wonderland and the Wizard of Oz.

"When eleven-year old Gregor follows his little sister through a grate in the laundry room of their New York apartment building, he hurtles into the dark Underland beneath the city. There, humans live uneasily beside giant spiders, bats, cocroaches, and rats - but the fragile peace is about to fall apart.

"Gregor wants no part of a conflict between these creepy creatures. He just wants to find his way home. But when he discovers that a strange prophecy foretells a role for him in the Underland's uncertain future, he realizes it might be the only way to solve the biggest mystery of his life. Little does he know his quest will change him - and the Underland - forever."

Now, I must confess, my reading binge has gone on longer this time than the one series. I had just finished the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency books when this series was recommended. However, I do note as I come close to the end of the Underland series, that I am interested in returning to the land of other interests. There are three images waiting to be transferred to carving medium, decisions to be made, a possible part time job to start, and so on and so on and so on. There are more books (Star Wars Jedi Apprentice Series and Poet & Peasant, A Literary-Cultural approach to the Parables in Luke) waiting in the wings, but I'm not feeling as compelled to retreat into them. I know, an odd combination on my reading list. But then, aren't we all a bit odd in some way or another. How about we use the word, eclectic. Yes, that's a good word.



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